thesis examination procedure unsw

• Stage 3 Completion
• Your Candidature

• What do I need to do?
• What do I need to know?
• What else is available?

You are now entering the final phase of your degree, congratulations. The bulk of the research is done, and you should be focused on completing the thesis and meeting your completion milestones. 

Interaction and discussion with your supervisors are critical during this stage. There are also numerous requirements and mandatory steps to undergo during this final stage. We have outlined several development and training opportunities that may help you during this time.

Submitting your thesis is a big step, and you want to make sure you get it right. We have listed the various policies, requirements, and steps here to help you navigate this important and exciting stage. 

Doing a Higher Degree by Research should be a great experience. Choosing to do your degree at UNSW means that you have the benefit of having many resources, training providers and support structures available to you to enhance your time here. Make sure you utilise the many opportunities and resources that we have across the whole of UNSW. We have tried to list as many services as we can, but it is always a good idea to ask your supervisors, Postgraduate Coordinator, academics or friends about other opportunities that may be available, especially those offered at the School or Faculty level.

Doing your Higher Degree by Research is exciting, but it is also possible for it to be a stressful time. You are not in this adventure alone, and it is important to ask for help when you need it. While your supervisors and school should be a great support for you, it is important to remember that you can get support from other people. The University has numerous resources and support structures in place to help throughout your candidature. Some of the key contacts and support structures are below.

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Graduate Research School, Level 2, Rupert Myers Building (South Wing), UNSW Sydney NSW 2052 Australia Telephone +61 2 93855500 Dean of Graduate Research, Professor Jonathan Morris. UNSW CRICOS   Provider Code:  00098G  TEQSA Provider ID : PRV12055  ABN:  57 195 873 179

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Frequently Asked Questions

• 11 About the Library
• 13 Accessing resources
• 20 Borrowing
• 11 Copyright
• 6 HDR candidates
• 6 Information resources
• 3 Membership
• 18 Open access
• 3 Policies and guidelines
• 4 Publishing research
• 13 Spaces and facilities
• 9 Thesis deposit
• 7 UNSW researchers

Does my Higher Degree Research thesis need to comply with the UNSW Open Access Policy?

Yes. Higher Degree Research (HDR) theses submitted via the Graduate Research School must comply with the UNSW Open Access Policy . The UNSW Thesis Examination Procedure states that all theses produced under a HDR program at UNSW should be publicly available.

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Examiner related tasks, examiner search.

Follow the navigation instructions in section 1 (Gateways and Enquiries) of the Help pages. Once you are on the main menu page for the student you have selected click on the button marked "Examiner Nomination Management". On the "Examiner Nomination Management" page you will see a separate field for each of the examiners you should nominate for the student. To start creating examiner details just click on the "Add" button next to the appropriate examiner letter (eg A, B, Reserve). This will take you to an "Examiner Search" page offering a couple of options of how to create or edit an examiner record. Start by searching for the examiner you would like to nominate in this position. The Thesis Examination Management system will store examiner information and if the person you are looking for already exists in the system you can save time filling out their details. You can search via a number of different criteria. Once you have entered all the criteria you think you need, click on the "Refresh" button on the right side of the page. This should bring up a list of examiners. If you find the examiner you are looking for click on the "Select" button next to the examiner's details. There are some keywords in the examiner detail section to help you to decide if this is the person for whom you are looking. It is important that you ensure that the person that you are about to link to a thesis examination is the correct person. If you have not been able to find the examiner you are looking, try adding or removing selection criteria. You may be attempting too broad a search or you may have been too specific in your search. The just click on the "Refresh" button again and the list will refresh based on the new set of criteria. If you still cannot find the examiner you are looking for, click on the "Create New Examiner" button at the bottom right hand side of the page. This will take you to a new screen where you can create a new examiner record. Once you are on the Examiner detail page start adding details for the examiner. Many fields are mandatory and these are marked with an asterisk. It is a good idea to add some general keywords about the examiner that may help you or another staff member locate them the next time they are used as an examiner. Specify whether the examiner is internal (ie an employee of UNSW) or external. This information is important and affects many aspects of the examination process. You will need to record two addresses for the examiner. The first is a mailing address. All correspondence, such as reminder letters, will be sent to this address. You must also record a thesis delivery address. The information may be the same in both fields. However, if the thesis is being sent to an examiner who is overseas you cannot use a P.O. Box or Locked Bag address. All overseas thesis deliveries are made via courier and these cannot be made to a P.O. Box as the package needs to be signed for by the recipient. Once you are satisfied that you have correctly recorded all the details you need click on the "Save & Return" button.

If you have selected an examiner who has an existing system record, please check the information on the "Examiner Detail" page. There is information at the bottom of the screen showing details of previous examinations undertaken by this examiner that may assist in deciding if this is the correct person. If you think that this is not the person you are looking for you can create a new record by clicking on the "Create New" button on this page. If you are satisfied that this is the correct person but you need to update some details, please edit the fields that need updating. Once you have finished just click on the "Save & Return" button. When you have returned to the main Nomination page you should now be able to start recording information specific to this examination. You need to record whether the examiner has a research relationship with the candidate. You should also record whether the examiner may or not not keep the thesis once they have completed their report. Then type in the justification for using this examiner for this student. Please note that it is important to provide detail to assist those making an approval decision on this set of examiners. The justification field is very large and should allow for as much detail as you can provide. If you wish to remove an examiner you can do so at any point by clicking on the "Remove or Replace Examiner" button. This will take you to a separate page where you can record details of what you wish to do. Once you have placed an examiner in each role and provided justification for each you will need to make two declarations. The first confirms that you have contacted the examiners, made them aware of the anticipated submission date, and that they have confirmed their ability to examine the thesis within the period nominated. The second declaration asks whether the candidate has expressed concerns about any of the proposed examiners. Where this has been indicated you will need to forward written details of this to the central administrative unit for research students on your campus. Please take the time to read these declarations carefully and mark them where necessary before proceeding.

If you need to you can save your work and come back to it by clicking the "Save & Return to Student Detail" button. Once you are satisfied that you have finished just click on the "Submit Nomination" button. This will take you to a confirmation page. Please take the time to review the information that you have provided. If you need to make any changes click on the "Back to Examiner Nomination Management" button. Once you are satisfied that all details are correct click on the "Confirm Nomination & Return" button. Your nominated set of examiners will be recorded and a notification email will be automatically sent to the appropriate authority in your School that their approval for this set of examiners is required. You can view information regarding the examiners at any time by clicking on the “Examiner Status Enquiry” button on the main menu for the student whom you have selected.

Examiner Detail

Postgraduate co-ordinator.

Follow the navigation instructions in section 1 (Gateways and Enquiries) of the Help pages. Once you are on the main menu page for the student you have selected click on the button marked "Examiner Nomination Management". Once you are on the "Examiner Nomination Management" page you should be able to see the set of examiners that have been nominated by the student's supervisor. You can view this page before the nomination has been submitted. However, the assumption is that you will be viewing this page once you have received notification that your approval is required. Towards the bottom of the page you will see a section entitled "School Approval Decision". To make a decision you should review the set of examiners and the justification for their use. In the "School Approval Decision" section you can then record your decision to approve or not approve the examiners. Enter the date of the decision and then add any comments you feel are necessary. You can only approve a set of examiners, not a single examiner. If you do not want to approve a set of examiners due to an issue with an examiner or examiners, you can mark that the set of examiners is not approved and then give more detail of the specific issues in the comments field. When the Supervisor then revises the set of examiners they can view these comments. Once you have completed this page click on the button marked "Save & Confirm Approval Decision". You should then see a confirmation page. Review the decision information on the page and once you are satisfied click on the "Confirm Approval Decision & Return". The decision will then be saved. If you have approved the examiners a notification will automatically be sent to the Faculty Representative(s) asking for approval from the faculty. If you have marked that the examiners are not approved a notification will automatically be sent to the Supervisor asking them to review and revise the set of examiners. You can view information regarding the examiners at any time by clicking on the “Examiner Status Enquiry” button on the main menu for the student whom you have selected.

Examiner Nomination Confirmation

Faculty executive.

Follow the navigation instructions in section 1 (Gateways and Enquiries) of the Help pages. Once you are on the main menu page for the student you have selected click on the button marked "Examiner Nomination Management". Once you are on the "Examiner Nomination Management" page you should be able to see the set of examiners that have been nominated by the student's supervisor and received approval from the school. You can view this page before the nomination has been submitted. However, the assumption is that you will be viewing this page once you have received notification that your approval is required. Towards the bottom of the page you will see a section entitled "Faculty Approval Decision". To make a decision you should review the set of examiners and the justification for their use. In the "Faculty Approval Decision" section you can then record your decision to approve or not approve the examiners. Enter the date of the decision and then add any comments you feel are necessary. You can only approve a set of examiners, not a single examiner.

If you do not want to approve a set of examiners due to an issue with an examiner or examiners, you can mark that the set of examiners is not approved and then give more detail of the specific issues in the comments field. When the Supervisor then revises the set of examiners they can view these comments. Once you have completed this page click on the button marked "Save & Confirm Approval Decision". You should then see a confirmation page. Review the decision information on the page and once you are satisfied click on the "Confirm Approval Decision & Return". The decision will then be saved. If you have approved the examiners the set of examiners will be considered to be nominated and approved. If you have marked that the examiners are not approved a notification will automatically be sent to the Supervisor asking them to review and revise the set of examiners. You can view information regarding the examiners at any time by clicking on the “Examiner Status Enquiry” button on the main menu for the student whom you have selected. You also have the ability to remove or replace examiners once they have been approved. From time to time you may be asked to do so. Follow the navigation instructions above and click on the "Remove or Replace this Examiner". Choose the appropriate option for this case. If the examiner is removed and not replaced you should instruct the Supervisor to nominate a new Examiner. The new examiner will need to be approved by you and the School Postgraduate Co-ordinator.

School Administrator

You do not have direct access to this part of the system. However you can monitor the progress of the nomination and approval process. For details on how to view this information please see Gateways & Enquiries of this guide In addition you can also create examiner records. Your school may feel that it is beneficial to create these records prior to the nomination process. The supervisor can then simply link these records to the student during the examiner nomination process. For information on how to create or edit and examiner record please see Examiner Search section of this page. You can view information regarding the examiners at any time by clicking on the “Examiner Status Enquiry” button on the main menu for the student whom you have selected.

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Depositing your thesis to UNSWorks

To receive your testamur on the graduation date, you must follow the steps on this page.

Step 1: Prepare your thesis files for deposit

You must deposit two digital copies in PDF format of the final and examined version of your PhD or Masters by Research thesis - a master copy and a public version.

Note: You only need to complete the thesis deposit process once. However, you must deposit two files even if both copies are identical.

The 'master copy' is the full complete final examined version of your thesis. This copy will be archived and will not be publicly accessible.

The 'public version' is the final examined version of your thesis that has been amended for public viewing by removing third-party copyright material or confidential/sensitive content. This version will be made available to the public online. Remove personal information such as signatures, zID and residential address.

File 1: The 'master copy'

1. Include the following mandatory documents in both copies of your thesis:

• Originality statement, Copyright and Authenticity statements
• Inclusion of Publications Statement

All candidates will have completed these forms online when submitting your thesis for examination via GRIS. You can access these documents via the GRIS Alumni portal .

• To include these documents in your files, you must print to PDF or take screenshots of the mandatory statements and insert them behind the title page of your final thesis.
• Select the checkboxes, including the green 'Candidate's Declaration' as shown in the example mandatory document screenshots below.
• If you no longer have access to the GRIS Alumni Portal, contact the Graduate Research School . Do not include the older signed statements if you can include screenshots of these statements from the GRIS Alumni Portal.

2. Make sure your thesis has a title page with your full name, faculty and school - only one title page is required.

3. Clearly name your file e.g. mastercopy.pdf - ensure it is saved as a PDF and not as a Word document.

File 2: The 'public version'

1. Go to Save As from your Master Copy file and create a duplicate PDF copy of your thesis, with a clearly labelled file name e.g. publicversion.pdf.

2. This version is available to the public online. Remove any confidential or sensitive content including personal information, such as signatures, zID and residential address.

Tips for removing content:

• To avoid disrupting page numbering and citation management, redact material from a PDF file rather than from Word. If preferred, you can edit in Word and then convert to PDF, but this could affect your layout and numbering.
• Edit PDFs in Adobe Pro which is available to current UNSW students from UNSW IT . Follow the Adobe instructions on redacting sensitive material . You can also use the Edit PDF tool to delete content.

3. Check for third-party copyright. Ensure you adhere to the Copyright guidelines and modify the public version to exclude any third-party copyright material for which permission has not been given.

• It is important to retain copies of permissions you have received.
• You can include Copyright permission granted by publishers and copyright owners in the master copy of your thesis that is submitted to the Library. However, they should be removed from the public version as they often contain sensitive content such as personal information.

Restricting access to your thesis

By default, your thesis is public immediately upon deposit. If you want to restrict access to the public version, you can nominate an embargo period and indicate the date the restriction will be lifted in the UNSWorks thesis deposit form:

• Restrictions up to 24 months do not require approval (date to be calculated from the date on the completion letter you received from the Graduate Research School).
• Restrictions beyond this date will require approval - for more information see UNSW Higher Degree Research Hub (requires login).
• Watch this short video on how to add an embargo .

Preparing thesis files

Watch this video on how to prepare your thesis files for deposit to UNSWorks.

Step 2: Submit/Deposit digital copies of your thesis to UNSWorks

Deposit your thesis

This button takes you to UNSWorks where you can select to deposit a thesis from the Deposit menu.

You only need to complete the thesis deposit process once however, you must deposit two files even if both copies are identical.

You need to log in with your UNSW zID and password. If your zID access has expired at the end of your candidature, complete the temporary login request form . We will process this request and send UNSWorks temporary login details to your nominated email address by the following working day.

Depositing your thesis: Top tips

Watch this video for our top four tips on how to deposit your thesis to UNSWorks.

Graduating soon?

Congratulations on your achievement! To ensure you are eligible to graduate, remember to return all UNSW Library books and Interlibrary loans, and pay any outstanding Library fines.

Looking for more information?

• See frequently asked questions for thesis digital deposit .
• Watch short videos on how to access the Thesis Deposit form and how to add, upload, edit and remove files .
• For further assistance, contact the Library Scholarly Content team and include your zID.